INTERVIEW: Marina Kondo on the talent, discipline, dignity of her fellow cast members
Photo: Marina Kondo stars in See What I Wanna See at Theatre 154. Photo courtesy of Thoms Brunot / Provided by The Press Room with permission.
See What I Wanna See, the Michael John LaChiusa musical based on three short stories by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, returns to New York City with a much-anticipated revival at Theatre 154 at 154 Christopher St. in the West Village of Manhattan. This new production, directed by Emilio Ramos and produced by Out of Box Theatrics, follows multiple narratives, envisioning the overall story much like a Japanese screen painting unfolding before an audience of appreciators. One story follows a multifaceted murder investigation in Central Park in the early 1950s (based on the ever-popular Rashomon tale), and this is followed by a story surrounding a forlorn priest in 2002 who is questioning his faith, according to press notes. Each of these tales is introduced with a prologue featuring the characters Kesa and Morito, a pair of “fatally contentious lovers.”
The musical, which continues through Sept. 29, features an all-AAPI cast, which includes Aaron J. Albano, Bebe Browning, Nikki Calonge, Takemi Kitamura, Marina Kondo, Kelvin Moon Loh, Justin Otaki Perkins, Zachary Noah Piser, Ann Sanders and Sam Simahk.
Kondo plays the characters of Kesa, The Wife and The Actress. As an actor, Kondo has earned many career highlights, including roles on TV’s Succession and the national tour of Stephen Sondheim’s Company. Other credits include Frozen, The King and I and Road Show.
In addition to her acting roles over the years, Kondo has also served as a translator — sometimes translating her own dialogue in the variety of shows she’s appeared in throughout her career. She opens up about her time with See What I Wanna See in a new interview with Hollywood Soapbox. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.
What attracted you to join this revival of See What I Wanna See?
Doing this revival of See What I Wanna See was attractive to me for many reasons.
Initially, when I was approached with this idea back in 2023, I really wanted to work with [music director] Adam Rothenberg and Emilio Ramos. These are two burgeoning artists whom I’ve looked up to and met in two different stages in my decade-long career. I’ve watched them weld their careers gracefully with such pure brilliance and passion. They are at the top of their game, tearing through New York City, humbly working deliberately and ferociously, and I love that. That energy is so attractive and inspiring to me.
Two, it altogether scared me. After comfortably being in many remounts of Broadway tours and putting my head down understudying incredible stars, headlining and also translating this Ryūnosuke Akutagawa and Michael John LaChuisa’s globally renowned masterpiece were all new hats I’ve never worn before. I knew I had to pull up my pants, dig deep and get to work. It felt like an all-encompassing job where I had to take all the tools that I have collected up until now and lay it all out on the table.
How important is it to be a member of an all-AAPI cast?
Oh, it is everything.
To me, the pandemic and rising Asian Hate has changed the game for AAPI folks, and I quickly realized that I must acknowledge myself and the community in two ways in order to come together.
One, honoring our own individual concoction of American and Asian with the varied cultures and history we represent. For example, I wouldn’t personally introduce myself as Asian-American; I am specifically Japanese-American (as Asia is actually 48 countries — the largest, most populated continent in the world). This is our sense of identity.
Two, to other non-AAPI folks, we are somehow considered under one blanket group of AAPI whether you are an immigrant or seventh generation. So how do we all place ourselves in one group, and more importantly, what does that mean for the Broadway community?
Our industry is probably one of the few spaces where we are required to acknowledge all of our groups’ identities and learn to work together. I think that’s beautiful. I believe that the Broadway AAPI community has transformed to something more nuanced than ever before with shows like KPOP, Here Lies Love and Life of Pi, and I am convinced we have only scratched the surface.
In See What I Wanna See, getting to work on a show with a group of individuals who still often represent the token in every other job is very special. We are certainly doing it for ourselves and perhaps for a whole underrepresented community, which I think subconsciously challenges us to vibrate at our highest level and step up to the plate time and time again. Our art is always bigger than any individual — so imagine, all that talent, discipline and dignity in one room — it brings tears to my eyes because I feel so lucky to be in a room together. It is truly a dream come true.
What do you like about Michael John LaChiusa’s words and music in this show?
Michael John LaChuisa is no doubt one of the greats of our century. His art allows us actors to be true vessels of his message; the material is undeniably that brilliant. Every note, every word, every punctuation is nary out of place. I can trust that it was written for a reason, and my job is to simply trust. That’s a sign of a brilliant writer. It is a performer’s dream to get the chance to work on something as complex as this.
This show is one-of-a-kind and has audiences sitting at the edge of their seats. See What I Wanna See is challenging on all fronts, and I am grateful I get to ponder every half note or repetition with an infinite sense of curiosity, as the show suggests.
Could you talk about your time as a translator and how that experience has impacted your theatrical career?
Translating was a complex and nuanced process, as the Japanese language does not have rhyme, which is an integral part of what makes American musical theatre what it is. The tonal nature of the Japanese language and the awkwardness of placing it on western melodies makes it particularly difficult to translate from English to Japanese, and vice versa. How does it take so many more musical notes to say one word in Japanese when you can fit a whole idea in English in the same amount of music?
So, why would it work here? Well, I’d say it was a testament to how brilliant and smart Michael John LaChuisa is. He clearly did an extensive amount of research.
I was deeply inspired by Enka, Japanese traditional opera/folk/gospel, the beginnings of what is considered “JPOP/karaoke songs” today and how they write their poetry in the music. While I was forced to write fewer words to evoke the same feeling, ideas and intentions, I realized that I was actually making the song more Eastern. I think of Japanese aesthetics and the concept of “ma” — in our context of music, it is the silence between sounds. In traditional Japanese music, some might say that silence is more important than sound, as music is made of sound and therefore cannot exist without silence. Ma is also the possibility of form and can make expressions clearer.
By saying fewer words I felt like I was creating space for deeper thought, for feeling, making complex implications in the lack of words.
Being able to translate in my native language just reconnects me to myself further, therefore allowing for deeper nuance of expression. That is everything in this career as a POC. You must know who you are and what you bring to the table.
How was your time with Company on tour?
Getting the chance to do Stephen Sondheim’s finest masterpiece, Company, for any extended period of time was a treat of a lifetime. The more you chewed on it, the less you understood, and so I was sent on an eternal quest of digging deeper to life’s unanswered questions through this show. I cannot emphasize enough how remarkable it was to perform, understand and experience so many versions of it over a year of eight-show weeks. What really made it special was that not only did I get to experience it from the perspective of one of Bobbie’s friends, but I received this poetry from Bobbie’s perspective as well. I personally changed and grew from doing Company.
When did you realize performing was going to be a lifelong profession?
My mother has a PhD in early childhood music education, and my father always had so much love for jazz. I grew up with music surrounding me, but I didn’t do my first musical until I was 7 years old in a local community theatre in Michigan. I moved a lot internationally as a kid and never made many friends, but experiencing putting up a show among a community of artists made me feel so at home. I was so addicted to that sense of belonging through music, and still, that’s what keeps bringing me back over and over again today.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
See What I Wanna See, featuring Marina Kondo, continues through Sept. 29 at Theatre 154 at 154 Christopher St. in the West Village of Manhattan. Click here for more information and tickets.
